


Strong, and Somewhat Sincere

by sabinelagrande



Series: Exandria NM [3]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: (kinda), Alternate Universe - Park Rangers, F/M, Love Confessions, Outdoor Sex, Pack It In Pack It Out Is Also Not a Euphemism, Possibly Specious Bear Facts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2016-08-19
Packaged: 2018-08-09 20:05:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7815295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sabinelagrande/pseuds/sabinelagrande
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Camping in the backcountry" is not a euphemism. Well, maybe it is a little bit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Strong, and Somewhat Sincere

Before the seasonals arrive, on-park housing goes through a grand reshuffling. Scanlan gets a newly built house that he insists on referring to as his mansion; Keyleth moves into a renovated one with Zahra, the new Dark Sky specialist whom Vex hates for a week and then loves unreservedly. Importantly, Vex moves in with her brother, and for the first time in many months, she has her own bedroom. This is a luxury she thought she could live without, but she wasn't counting on Percy happening.

So when she makes it happen with Percy, they have a choice of private rooms, but it's not a perfect system. Vax puts on music so loud it feels like an editorial comment, but Grog once gave them a surprisingly accurate critique of their performance.

This was something of a blessing in disguise, because they never would have figured out how to put the closet door back on without his help.

It's really not such a terrible burden, all things considered, but there are times when a little more privacy is called for. When they need some breathing room, the backcountry is wide and open and completely devoid of housemates. On a day like this one, it's exactly what they need.

It's their one month- well, it's been a month, a month of whatever they were plus sex. Neither of them have pointed out that they're celebrating this, though Vex knows, and she knows it's the kind of thing Percy would notice. But at any rate, they're a month in and making use of the vagaries of scheduling to go on an overnight, deep enough in the park that they'll be secluded but not so deep that people will be asking questions. Vex doesn't really think people will be fooled by any reason given for this trip, but better to be a little more accessible and not have to deal with SAR if things go wrong.

They've set up the tent and lit a fire; that was as far as they got before Vex put down a blanket and all but tackled him onto it. Sometimes Percy likes to act surprised when Vex does things like this, but today he went down easy, pulling her to him before they even hit the ground. It was so sudden that they're both half-clothed; Percy ended up with his glasses still on, and intermittently he adjusts them, which is distracting and adorable all at once. It doesn't matter though, not as long as he keeps his hips working, keeps moving steadily, unhurried and exactly how Vex wants him.

Vex puts her arms around his neck, pulling him down for a kiss as she rocks up to meet him. It's perfection, just what she needed, and she'd be lying if she didn't admit that the occasion colors it somewhat, makes it warmer.

This is what Vex is thinking about when Percy suddenly freezes in place, staring at something above Vex's head. Vex braces herself for the familiar voice of one of her fellow rangers, because _certainly_ that must be what Percy sees.

"Whatever you do," Percy says urgently, "Don't. Move."

Vex raises an eyebrow; that's a little much for getting walked in on, not to mention the opposite of her first impulse. "Can I ask why?"

"Look over there, on the ridge," he says, tilting his head, and Vex looks as best she can from the ground. "See the coloration? That's CL-"

"Trinket!" Vex says excitedly, and Percy grimaces.

"I thought 'be quiet' was implied," Percy says.

Vex turns her head this way and that, but her view doesn't improve. "I can't see him upside down."

"Because I love you, I am going to very carefully roll us over," Percy says, with great reluctance. "I know how you feel about Trinket, but please don't get us killed."

Vex holds on as Percy rolls onto his back, flipping their positions. "He's at least a hundred and fifty yards away," she says dismissively, though she doesn't dare to sit up. "We'll be fine."

"An ounce of prevention," Percy says. "I would rather not find out whether the bear-repelling techniques I have learned actually work."

Vex isn't paying much attention to him, too focused on Trinket. Even at such a distance, he is a majestic animal; he lumbers through the trees, stopping to rub himself against one of them, and lets out a protracted yawn.

"What a gorgeous creature," Vex breathes. She looks down. "Oh, Percy, isn't he a darling?"

"He's certainly," Percy says, pausing, "a bear."

For a few more moments, Vex gets to enjoy Trinket's splendor, but then he wanders off, down the ridge and away from Percy and herself.

"You can stop being scared, he went along his way," she tells Percy, sitting up. She waves, though- or because- she knows the bear won't notice. "Bye-bye, Trinket."

"I suppose we should move," Percy says. "If that's his rub tree, he could come this way again. I didn't realize he ranged this far into this part of the park."

"You're not suggesting we leave without finishing," Vex says, leaning down over him.

He winces. "I don't know how to tell you this, but fear isn't a turn-on."

"I don't think you're quite down for the count," Vex says with a grin, reaching between them. Despite his warning, it isn't too difficult to coax him back to hardness. She slides down around him, taking him all the way in, savoring the way it feels.

And then she almost freezes herself, because it suddenly hits her, the part where Percy said he loved her.

Percy's mind is subtle and quick, and Vex knows he knows he could play it off as a joke, an exaggeration, a careless comment. It's not like Vex hasn't said things like that before in jest; she's probably even said them to Percy. But Percy said it in what amounts to a life-or-death situation, while he was inside of her, on what is basically a tacit anniversary trip. Those are things that change the valence of it, enough so that Vex is off balance.

Vex focuses on moving, hoping her state of internal distress is not as obvious as it feels. The only people she's ever seriously said "I love you" to and meant it are Vax and her mother. The idea of adding someone to that set has always been distant, remote, inevitable but improbable at the same time. Could she do it now? Does she love Percy, this clever, cutting, kind boy, and should she even admit that on the basis of what could have been an entirely flippant comment?

It's almost too much; she very nearly stops and demands that he explain himself, because she's moving on to full-blown panic. She needs to keep it together, because it was nothing, absolutely nothing. Only it wasn't nothing, not at all, or else she wouldn't be in such a state over it.

"Vex?" Percy says softly, guileless, his hands rubbing smooth circles on her back under her shirt. That solidifies something, something to cling to; this is Percy, who doesn't shy away from uncertainty, who appreciates shades of meaning and delicate situations. If he were really serious, he would wait as long as necessary; if he never got an answer at all, he would bow out gracefully rather than forcing a confrontation.

"These damn glasses are so distracting," Vex says, covering, though her voice sounds shaky in her own ears, and she takes the glasses off of Percy's face, setting them well out of the way. Just for fun, she ruffles his hair, though it makes him frown at her. "I love you like this," she says, a concession, the same kind of plausibly deniable trial run, and she sees it click in Percy's head. He doesn't say anything, just pulls her down to kiss her.

It's more urgent than before, with this new thing between them. Vex rides him hard, his hands gripping her hips tightly; she has to bite her lips to keep in all the sound she wants to make, the evidence of how good he makes her feel. It isn't long before she comes, grasping at him, feeling him follow her seconds later.

She bends forward, letting him support her, and takes a moment to take it all in. Percy runs his fingers up and down her spine, a soothing touch; she could stay like this for a very long time, just let this thing between them settle, but right now, the real world is pressing in.

Vex pats his cheek. " _Now_ we can move the campsite," she says, untangling herself from him and standing up.

"Yes, dear," he says, putting on his glasses before rummaging through his pack and finding a ziplock to put the condom in. "If you'll deal with the fire, I'll manage the tent."

"Deal," she says, picking up the blanket first and folding it. She makes to walk past him, but he catches her arm.

"Hey," he says.

"Hey what?" Vex returns.

He pulls her to him, kissing her deeply, and she wraps her arms around him, holding him close.

"Oh, nothing," Percy says lightly when they part. "As you were." Vex gives him a wink and a sarcastic little salute.

And then they move on, physically, anyway. Some things they do not move on from at all.


End file.
